Silvio Berlusconi minister alleges call girl was paid to lie

Silvio Berlusconi's foreign minister has alleged Patrizia D'Addario, the call girl at the centre of sex allegation against the Italian prime minister, has been paid to invent her story.

Franco Frattini with Berlusconi: Mr Frattini alleged in an interview with the BBC: 'All these allegations are proving absolutely not true'Photo: AFP

From Nick Pisa in Rome

12:59PM BST 24 Jul 2009

Franco Frattini, 52, sprang to the defence of the beleaguered Italian prime miister, who has been riding a series of sleaze scandals for three months.

The latest revelations centre on a series of risque recordings in which Mr Berlusconi, 72, is praised for his "performance" by Miss D'Addario, 42, apparently after spending the night with him. Three excerpts from the tapes where posted on the website of the Left-leaning news magazine L'Espresso this week.

Mr Frattini alleged in an interview with the BBC: "All these allegations are proving absolutely not true, and that is why no prosecutor has put my prime minister under investigation. And these are actually not true on the substance.

"What is really, really a matter of concern is that some journalists paid these escorts or even prostitutes to make public statements and public declarations against my Prime Minister and this - to pay people to make false allegations, this is indeed a very immoral wrongdoing."

Miss D'Addario, from Bari, immediately hit back at the cabinet minister's claims through a statement issued by her lawyer.